Alfa and Harbour Energy terminate plans to buy Pacific Rubiales

July 8 (Reuters) - Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp
said on Wednesday that Mexican industrial conglomerate Alfa
SAB de CV and Harbour Energy Ltd have dropped their
plans to buy the Canadian oil and gas company.

The C$2 billion ($1.57 billion) offer, first made in May
will terminate immediately, Pacific Rubiales said in a
statement, adding that it is not obligated to pay a termination
fee.

Pacific Rubiales did not provide a reason for the
termination of the deal, which had been opposed by O'Hara
Administration Co, whose holders own 20 percent of Pacific
Rubiales.

Proxy firm Institutional Shareholders Services in June had
advised clients to vote "No" on the sale of Pacific Rubiales,
saying that the oil producer was worth more than the offer made
by Alfa and Harbour.

The opposing shareholders had launched a proxy fight to
block the deal, urging other investors to vote against the
offer.

Pacific Rubiales was seeking to disqualify O'Hara from
voting and had said the all-cash offer maximizes value for all
of its investors.

The C$6.50 per share offer came during difficult times for
Pacific Rubiales, whose shares have plunged 75 percent over the
last year as crude prices fell and the company struggled under
its hefty debt load.

Pacific Rubiales said it would continue with its plans to
reduce costs, divest non-core assets and reduce debt.